Campaign Update

Yet Another Reason To Stop Robocalls: IRS Tax Scams

ConsumerReports.org put up useful tips and warnings about the latest scam being perpetrated by robocallers. Here is the scam being run:

“Scammers “spoof” caller ID numbers to make it look as though they’re calling from an IRS office. They use fake names and bogus IRS badge numbers; sometimes they say they represent the IRS Criminal Investigation and threaten police arrest, deportation, revocation of your driver’s license and heavy penalties. They may claim to know the last four digits of your Social Security number. They leave “urgent” callback requests. They often demand that payments be made by prepaid debit card.”

Robocalls are those annoying automated calls we all get at home from a recorded message or a live agent. Our conservative estimate is that Americans lose at least $350 million dollars to robocall scams each year. The calls often target vulnerable groups like seniors and immigrants. That is why we launched our EndRobocalls.org campaign.

NPR recently did a story on IRS scams as well and featured this great tip for seniors from consumer columnist Sheryl Harris:

“…if you’re a senior citizen, and you make less than $52,000 a year, you’re likely eligible for free in-person tax help. So it’s not quite as stressful for you… So if you go to IRS.Treasury.gov/FreeTaxPrep or you call the IRS at 1-800-906-9887, they can help you find a local in-person free – free volunteer tax help. And that will save you $500 – $600 bucks right off the bat getting your taxes done if you’re low-income.”

There are a number of tax scams that will gain momentum as we get closer to the filing deadline so be aware.

Over 200,000 people have signed the EndRobocalls.org petition calling on the big phone companies to do more to stop these calls. You can start fighting back by signing on today!